This invention relates to apparatuses and methods for preventing disengagement of electrical connectors, and more particularly to retainers for preventing disengagement of electrical connectors in the assembly of computers.
Computers and many other products have several electrical connectors for operatively coupling internal and external components to one another. In a computer, for example, disk drives and CD-ROMs are coupled to a motherboard using internal connectors, and external output devices (e.g., printers and displays) are coupled to the computer using external connectors. The electronics industry typically uses standardized connectors so that manufacturers can purchase standard connectors from several different outside vendors.
Each computer generally has a plurality of different multiple-pin connectors. Among the more popular multiple-pin connectors available for assembling computers are the D-type, rectangular connectors, and center ribbon cable connectors. Additionally, card-edge connectors having 15-100 pins are also available to connect printed circuit boards to motherboards or other devices. One concern of electrical connectors is maintaining electrical contact between the electrical connectors and the receptacles with which they are engaged. Several types of electrical connectors rely on friction between the connector pins and mating sockets to hold the electrical connectors in the receptacles. Other types of electrical connectors have positive retention devices that securely attach the electrical connectors the receptacles.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are partial isometric views of two positive retention devices that are commonly used to prevent a connector from disengaging a socket. FIG. 1A, more specifically, shows a D-type connector 110 with two thunbscrews 112 that thread into holes 113 in a receptacle 111. FIG. 1B shows a rectangular type connector 120 with wire-clip latches 122 that snap into slots 123 in a receptacle 121. Not shown in FIG. 1 is a common card-edge type connector used to attach a printed circuit card to a motherboard. This type of connector is commonly provided with lugs that can be soldered to the motherboard to prevent disengagement of the circuit card.
Not all electrical connectors, however, are provided with positive retention devices. For example, electrical connectors for center ribbon cables that are used with drive devices (e.g., floppy disk or CD-ROM drives) typically do not have positive retention devices and rely only on pin friction to maintain engagement with the drive devices A common problem encountered with this type of connector is that vibrations during transport or handling can cause the connector to disengage from its receptacle. Disengagement can occur during shipment from the point of assembly to the point of sale, or during typical use by the purchaser. This problem is especially acute with portable laptop computers.
FIG. 2 is a partial isometric view of a standard 68-pin IDE (integrated drive electronics) center ribbon cable connector 210 that does not have one of the positive retention devices more commonly used with the D-type or rectangular type connectors shown in FIG. 1. The center ribbon cable connector 210 mates with a 68-pin SCSI (small computer systems interface) connector receptacle 211 to connect an ultra-wide SCSI ribbon cable 215 to a 3xc2xd-inch drive device 230. Without a positive retention device, the center ribbon cable connector 210 is prone to vibrate out of the 68-pin SCSI connector receptacle 211 during shipment of a computer 200
The present invention is directed toward apparatuses and methods for preventing disengagement of electrical connectors in the assembly of computers. In one embodiment, the apparatus is a computer system having a chassis, an electrical component contained within the chassis, an electrical connector engaged with a receptacle on the electrical component, and a retainer to prevent disengagement of the electrical connector. In this embodiment, the retainer has a mounting portion and a connector interface. The mounting portion can be attached to at least one of the electrical component or the computer chassis. The connector interface is adjacent to the electrical connector to prevent the connector from disengaging from the receptacle on the electrical component. The connector interface can contact the electrical connector to press the connector into the receptacle on the electrical component, or the connector interface can be offset a selected distance to prevent the connector from disengaging from the electrical component. In one aspect of this embodiment, the retainer can prevent a center ribbon cable connector from disengaging a 3xc2xd-inch drive device In other embodiments, the retainer can prevent disengagement of other connectors from other electrical components.
In another embodiment, an apparatus for retaining an electrical connector in a drive device is a retainer having a mounting portion toward a first end and a connector interface toward a second end. The mounting portion can have a substantially flat mounting surface with at least one fastener aperture configured to attach to a housing of the drive device. The connector interface can have a substantially rigid and substantially flat base portion adjacent to the electrical connector when the mounting portion is attached to the drive device. In one aspect of this embodiment, the arrangement of the mounting portion and the connector interface can give the retainer an xe2x80x9cL-shape.xe2x80x9d In other embodiments, the retainer can take other forms. In another aspect of this embodiment, the connector interface can include two side portions that connect to the base portion to form a concave cross-section. This concave cross-section is configured to cup the electrical connector to prevent the disengagement of the connector from the drive device.
In yet another embodiment, an apparatus for retaining an electrical connector in a drive device is a two-piece retainer having a bracket and a movable retainer portion. The bracket can have a first side member, a second side member, and a center member extending between the first and second side members. The side members of the bracket attach to a housing of the drive device. The moveable retainer portion can be operatively coupled to the first and second side members of the bracket. In this embodiment, once the bracket is attached to the housing of the drive device, the electrical connector can be installed in the drive device and the retainer portion can be positioned adjacent to the connector to prevent the connector from disengaging from the drive device.
One method for preventing disengagement of an electrical connector from a drive device in a computer includes securing a mounting portion of a retainer to a housing of the drive device or a chassis of the computer to position a connector interface of the retainer adjacent to the connector. In one aspect of this embodiment, securing the mounting portion of the retainer to the housing of the drive device can include inserting a threaded fastener through a fastener aperture in the mounting portion and threading the fastener into a selected threaded hole in the housing of the drive device. In other embodiments, the mounting portion can be secured to the chassis of the computer and not to the drive device housing.
Another method for preventing disengagement of an electrical connector from a receptacle on an electrical component includes using a two-piece retainer having a bracket and a movable retainer portion. In this embodiment, the retainer bracket is attached to the electrical component, and the electrical connector is installed into the receptacle on the electrical component. The movable retainer portion of the retainer is then positioned adjacent to an outwardly facing surface of the connector to prevent the connector from disengaging from the electrical component. In one aspect of this embodiment, the method can be used to prevent a center ribbon cable connector from disengaging from a 3xc2xd-inch drive device. In other embodiments, the method can be used to prevent disengagement of other connectors from other electrical components.